10 days ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks had a 4 1/2 game lead on the Dodgers in the National League West, and I declared the LA dead. D-E-A-D. As a doornail. The fork was in 'em, cause they were done.
The Blue completed a 3-game sweep of Arizona Sunday, giving them an 8 wins in a row, and they have taken a game and a half lead over the D-Backs. Joe Torre's team is pretty damn streaky. The current winning streak follows an 8-game losing streak. Somehow the Dodgers, as bad as they are, control their own destiny.
The win on Sunday was vintage 2008 Dodgers baseball. After working out of a jam in the 8th, Jon Broxton started the 9th with a 5-3 LA lead. He struck out Augie Ojeda and Stephen Drew to start the 9th, then Chad Tracy doubled and Adam Dunn walked, bringing the tying run to the plate. 3B Nomar Garciaparra made a diving grab of Conor Jackson's line drive to end the game. Broxton is always walking a tightrope when he's put in a save situation.
Andre Ethier is absolutely on fire. In his last 7 games, he is 15-25 (.600) with 3 homers and 10 RBIs. There is no question that you see better pitches when Manny Ramirez is in the on-deck circle. After averaging only 1.8 runs per game in their 8 game losing streak, the Dodger bats have heated up with 6.5 runs per game in the winning streak.
It would be easy to say, they're home free and that the LA Dodgers will win the division and make the playoffs. But these are the Dodgers. This LA team has lost 12 of its last 14 games on the road, and they finish with 13 of their last 19 away from the Ravine. The D-Backs have a marginally more favorable schedule with 20 games - half at home and half on the road.
The race to the finish line starts Monday night. Gregg Maddux will throw for the Dodgers against his former teammates at Petco Park. LA will face below average South Korean starter Cha Sung Baek (4-10). Meanwhile, the Dodgers catch a break as Arizona faces the dominating Tim Lincecum (15-3) at San Francisco.
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